As of 12pm on November 22, Delhi's AQI according to aqi.in is recorded at 315, with PM2.5 recorded at 225, and PM10 recorded at 296. The levels are still under the category 'Hazardous' and is equivalent to smoking 10.8 cigarettes a day, 75.6 cigarettes a week, and 324 cigarettes a month.

Amid all this, in an interview with the news agency ANI, AIIMS doctor called Delhi's deteriorating air quality as a "medical emergency". The doctors have warned that the crisis has intensified to a level where existing government measures are no longer enough. Prof Dr Anant Mohan, who heads the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, and Dr Saurabh Mittal of the same department at AIIMS said that city's continuously worsening pollution could pose serious threats to the vulnerable, including pregnant women, unborn and newborn child, and other adults, especially the ones with cardiac or neurological conditions.

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Impact Could Be Generational

Dr Mohan highlighted that the exposure could lead to impacts which could be felt for generations. He said that the alarming effect is being seen on pregnant women, and that the pollutant, since the particles are so small, could pass through mother to the child in the fetus and could affect their growth.

The doctor pointed out that babies who are exposed to such a condition in womb have a higher chance of being born under weight, and their lungs may continue to remain weak as they grow. There could be other complications too, which might only be noted as the child grows old.

Dr Mittal said that the effects of air pollution now reach far beyond respiratory issues. He noted that prolonged exposure to toxic air has triggered rising cases of breathlessness, lung inflammation, asthma attacks, and chronic conditions like COPD. Fine particulate matter is also entering the bloodstream, raising the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

What Can You Do?

Wear N-95 Mask

The doctors are advising to wear an N-95 mask whenever someone is stepping outdoors. He mentions that a cloth or a surgical mask won't protect them against the pollutants, as N-95 masks are the only protective gears with filters that can keep the pollutants out when you breathe.

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Skip Your Morning Walk

Pollution is the highest in the morning. This happens because pollutants accumulate overnight, and without wind or sunlight, PM2.5 or the particulate matter stays trapped near the ground, leading to pollution being at its peak by sunrise. As per the data by aqi.in, highest AQI is always registered between 6am to 9am.

Use Wet Mopping

Dry dusting could push the particles back up into the air, thus using a wet mop would reduce the dust particles and prevent it from being released in the air.

Vitamin C Supplements

A 2007 study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine noted that vitamin C or its supplement could in fact help patients with pneumonia or other lung-related disease. Thus vitamin C is a good boost for when lungs are at high risk, all thanks to the pollution.

Furthermore, the doctors suggest to keep hydrating yourself and use air purifier if one can afford it.

Once a rare condition, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) now affects one in three Indians, scientists say.

NAFLD, now called as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is when excess fat builds up in the liver, unrelated to heavy alcohol use, due to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

It ranges from simple fat accumulation to inflammation and damage, which can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer, The disease often has no symptoms and is managed with lifestyle changes such as diet and weight loss.

A JAMA study has now found that about 40 percent of the global population is now suffering from NAFLD, with abdominal obesity identified as its single biggest risk factor. Between 2010 and 2021, India recorded a 13.2 percent increase in age-standardized prevalence, ranking just behind China at 16.9 percent and Sudan at 13.3 percent.

What Did The Study Find?

Researchers found that nearly 70 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes and about 80 percent of those with obesity are affected by NAFLD. They also discovered that NAFLD prevalence is higher in men than in women, with rates of 15,731 per 100,000 population in men compared with 14,310 in women.

Additionally, the disease peaks earlier in men, between 45 and 49 years of age, while women show the highest prevalence between 50 and 54 years.

Why Is NAFLD on the rise?

Experts also note that working long hours at desks without any proper physical activity can lead to weight gain and fat accumulation in the liver.

According to the Union health ministry, the prevalence of the condition could be in the range of 9-53 percent. Multiple other health studies also suggest nearly 40 percent of urban Indians may have some form of fatty liver disease

Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as LiverDoc on social media, noted on X that many patients do not realize that timely lifestyle changes can completely reverse the condition. “All it takes is being in charge of your body and health. No shortcuts—go slow and steady,” he wrote.

If left untreated, NAFLD can progress to Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), where liver inflammation begins. Over time, this inflammation can lead to scarring of the liver, known as fibrosis. Advanced fibrosis results in cirrhosis, which severely affects liver function.

NAFLD can also increase the risk of chronic liver disease, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Many patients diagnosed with liver cancer have a history of untreated fatty liver.

NHS expanded access of a life-extending prostate cancer drug after a campaign ran by a patient and a charity. This drug is abiraterone, which had been available on the NHS in Scotland and Wales since 2023, but now in England and Northern Ireland, except in the most severe cases.

In the UK, the cancer drug is prescribed for patients with prostate cancer at a very advanced stage. However, now, the drug will be available to prostate cancer patients in England on the NHS, even for those where cancer has not metastasized or spread. This could save hundreds of lives.

The assistant director of health improvement at charity Prostate Cancer UK, Amy Rylance said that the decision was "a momentous, life-saving victory for the thousands of men whose lives will not be saved".

The charity estimated that this will enable 7,000 men a year to start their treatment, with around 1,470 cancers being avoided rom getting worse. This could save somewhere around 560 lives.

The drug is soon to be available on NHS England in weeks.

What Is Abiraterone?

As per the Cancer Research UK, abiraterone is a hormone therapy drug. The Prostate Cancer UK notes that this is most commonly offered to men whose cancer has stopped responding to other types of cancer drugs.

As per Mayo Clinic, it is used in combination with prednisone to treat patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and metastatic high risk castration-sensitive prostate cancer. This medicine is only available on doctor's prescription and is available as a tablet.

What Is Prostate Cancer?

The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. It occurs when abnormal cells form and grow in that gland.

Experts say that not all prostate cancer is deadly. There are cancers that are slow-growing and will not affect a man's lifespan, which is found in 1 in 3 men over 50. Then there is a small number of very aggressive prostate cancers which move quickly and cause harm, this is why regular screening is important.

Read: Olympic Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy Shares His Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer From A Common Shoulder Pain

Are There Any Tests For Prostate Cancer?

In the UK, there is no prostate cancer screening programme like those for breast, bowel and cervical cancer. The onus is therefore on men to request a blood test from their general practitioner once they are over 50. When not aware, it can become life-threatening as it did for Sir Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic cyclist, who opened up on his diagnosis of the same through a shoulder pain last year.

Despite more men dying from prostate cancer than women from breast cancer, as per BBC, there are no reliable tests for this. The blood test that men over 50 request from their general practitioner measure prostate-specific antigen (PSA), released by the prostate, a small gland located below the bladder involved in the production of semen.

However, experts say that PSA levels can be high for many other reasons too, including enlarged prostate, inflammation, infection, recent vigorous exercise or sex.

The latest vaccine recommendation are confusing, children should not be dying because of such ambiguity, say experts. Doctors have noted that the recent vaccine recommendation which removed four vaccines, including influenza vaccine from recommended shots compulsory for children is giving mixed signals. This is at the time when the country has reached record-breaking rates of illness and hospitals are struggling to keep up with the surge of flu patients.

Seema Lakdawala, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Emory School of Medicine, as reported by The Guardian said, "We are in the midst of a very severe flu season". However, she pointed, despite this, the US has dismantled many of its vaccine recommendation, now the flu vaccine must have a "shared clinical decision-making".

While the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services and vaccine critic Robert F Kennedy Jr told CBS News "that's a better thing" upon being asked if these new restrictions would mean fewer children getting vaccination against the flu. However, doctors say otherwise. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also said, "Every year, there is a flu vaccine. It does not always work very well. That's why it's been controversial of late". Instead, Oz told Newsmax that Americans must "take care" of themselves, so they can "overwhelm" the flu when they encounter it.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s press statement reads: "the decision to vaccinate is a personal one”. The press statement has asked people to consult their GPs and doctors and understand the "potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines".

Also Read: Flu Symptoms In Kids Could Be Deadly, Doctors Say Shot Is Still The Best Protection

What Are Experts Saying On CDC's Latest Vaccine Recommendation?

Megan Berman, professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and faculty with the Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences told The Guardian, that vaccine rates have already gone down and with these new changes, it will further dampen the vaccination rates because it "gives the message that it is not important". Yet, "nothing has changed from the science, and I know that physicians are still strongly recommending it to everyone six months and older...Children should not be dying from a preventable illness".

Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Stanford University, told TODAY.com, “It’s more than unfortunate; it's tragic," for the CDC to change its flu shot guidance for kids. “(Flu shots) probably are the most effective intervention in the last 100 years to reduce child deaths in this country.”

Experts have warned that the new guidance creates confusion, which could lead to fewer children getting vaccinated. However, doctors time and again have said that the best line of defense remains to be the flu shots. Dr Pedro Piedra, professor of molecular virology and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine told Today.com, "There is plenty of data showing the effectiveness... of the influenza vaccine in children." The CDC website also states that the "flu vaccine can prevent severe, life-threatening complications in children."